Spirituality: Complicated grief offers no final answers

6:32 PM,
May 9, 2014

Written by

Norris Burkes
Spirituality

As a hospital chaplain, I sometimes see things that are too heartbreaking to forget. Other times, I witness things that are too hideous to remember. On rare occasions, I encounter both.

Such was the case 20 years ago when paramedics rolled a 3-year-old boy into the emergency room at Houston Northwest Medical Center. His blue eyes, medium-length blond hair and cherubic face gave the hint of a child model.

Within seconds, the trauma room spun with controlled chaos as every available hand assembled to perform CPR. Doctors shouted orders, techs charged defibrillators, and nurses gave ...